Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 241
! ! 241 In my opinion , it is also cruel to force girls to wear a burqa from a very young age. This h as a harmful effect on their health , and they are unable to attain a good height. The girl should be made to observe p u rdah when she approaches puberty. ( Al - Fazl , July 6, 1928) A Further Con vers ation on P u rdah Delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashir - ud - D in Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifat - ul - Masih II ra Close to the time of Maghrib prayers, Mr. Mu sharraf Hussain MA, Delhi Inspector of Post Offices, came to have an audience with Haz rat Khalifat - ul - Masih II ra. They spoke of the ruin of the royal families of Delhi and the destruction of old learned families. Thereafter, Inspector Sahib sought Haz rat Khalifa t - ul - Masih II ’s ra viewpoint on the issue of p u rdah. In response , Haz rat Khalifa t - ul - Masih II ra referred to a talk he gave to a medical student a few days earlier, which had been published in Al - Fazl. A copy of the Al - Fazl was given to Inspector Sahib and Ha z rat Khalifa t - ul - Masih II ra further elaborated upon this conversation : “ When regarding matters which relate to deeds , people should look to the actions of those who were originally addressed, rather than arguing over statements. In regard to p u rdah , we should look at the practice of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa and his c ompanions ra. It shows that p u rdah included the face. There are incidents related in the H adith which support this. These accounts are not specifically related in support of p u rdah , lest one may infer that the personal opinion or inclination of the narrator has a role to play. Rather, these accounts have been mentioned when recording other incidents. Hence , they are decisive with regards to p u rdah , for these events were not recorded with the issue of p u rdah in mind , but they were simply narrating daily routines. Therefore, covering one’s face is supported through H adith and Islam ic h istory. ” Inspector Sahib : “What is your view on :